The IntermediaTeam

April 12, 2016

Partners: Are you helping customers plan for ransomware?

Lately, I’ve been talking a lot with partners about the threat of ransomware — how it’s rapidly rising, targeting businesses of all sizes, and spreading to multiple victims within corporate networks. Our recent 2016 Crypto-Ransomware Report explores the issue in detail.

One element of our report is a survey we conducted among VARs and MSPs about their experiences with ransomware attacks and its impact on their customers. One of the biggest findings was that 72% of victims were unable to access their data for at least 2 days, with 32% down for 5 days or more.

“Cryptolocker can be highly detrimental. One of our more recent experiences was with a customer that had about 75% of its files encrypted before they reported the problem to us. By that time, most of the data on its network shares was impacted as well. They were down for 3 whole days while we restored the data.”

Given that VARs and MSPs are the first line of defense for their customers when it comes to IT services, our partners are finding themselves on the hook for helping their customers recover from ransomware attacks. So we’re happy to give our partners a powerful business continuity tool that can make the recovery process much easier.

“In the event of a ransomware outbreak, businesses previously would spend multiple days recovering locked files off outdated backups, or they would pay the ransom hoping to regain them. SecuriSync is a complete file management solution that combines real-time backup, mass restore capabilities and remote access turning a would-be disaster into a mild disruption.”

What partners are saying about SecuriSync’s new file restoration capabilities

When we first launched SecuriSync’s new file backup and restore features, we had a few partners test it out and give us feedback. Here’s what a couple of them had to say:

Walter Chamblee, Director of Information Technology at Signaturefd.com shares, “Intermedia constantly identifies industry pain points and addresses them with market first innovations. In the event of a ransomware attack, businesses can be back in control of their files in just moments with SecuriSync, while other file storage providers painstakingly require users to restore files one at a time.”

Koert Council, Partner at Kosh Solutions says, “We’ve picked up half a dozen or more new customers as a result of ransomware attacks. Heightened media exposure has made businesses realize they are vulnerable and need protection. No business today can afford the potential loss of 3 or more days of revenue while they scramble to recover. Now with SecuriSync, our clients can skip paying the ransom altogether.”

New profit opportunities for partners

SecuriSync is gray-labeled so you have full control over billing, pricing, support and every other aspect of the customer experience. Further, you have the added flexibility of being able to sell under Intermedia’s Advisor and Private Label reselling models on a customer-by-customer basis. You can bundle SecuriSync with consultative services around the education of users about ransomware and phishing, and ransomware recovery (file restoration and reimaging of machines).

Of course, we don’t send you in alone. As with our other services, we’re developing new materials that we’ll deploy to the Intermedia Partner Sales Portal later this month to help you educate your customers on the threat of ransomware.

And we’re having a webinar, too! Join us April 21st at 3pm ET / 12pm PT when our VP of Security and Privacy will lead a panel on ransomware’s threats and opportunities for MSPs and VARs.

More about Intermedia’s partner program

Not an Intermedia partner yet? Here’s why you should be:

1. Intermedia’s Office in the Cloud™ enables you to resell more than 30+ essential cloud services, including email, phone systems, backup & file sharing and security solutions. Our services are all mobile, reliable and managed through a single control panel. This helps you reduce overhead and create major efficiencies, because you only have one vendor, one bill, one source of support and one place to administer services.

2. You get full control over how you run your cloud business with the flexibility of three different partnership models. And uniquely with Intermedia, you can choose which model you want to sell under on a customer-by-customer basis, depending on what’s best for your business and your customers.

Private Label: Retain full customer ownership with control over billing, branding and margins.

Advisor: We handle both billing and technical support and you earn generous commissions over the life of the customer account.

Referral: Pass Intermedia leads to close.

3. You get support throughout every aspect of the customer lifecycle. Every Intermedia partner has access to premium marketing support and an assigned sales representative who will work with you to turn leads into sales. And after each sale, Intermedia’s Cloud Concierge™ team will fully handle the migration of your customers to the cloud – ensuring no downtime. Finally, on an ongoing basis, Intermedia provides you (or your customers, depending on which model you select) with 24/7 expert technical support with typical hold times of less than 60 seconds.

About The Intermedia Team

Intermedia’s Office in the Cloud™ delivers essential IT services for SMBs and the partners who serve them — including hosted Exchange, Hosted PBX, SecuriSync file sync and share, security, mobility and more.